This application relates to a method of sterilizing water supply systems to eliminate bacteria, and then maintaining additives in the system to ensure bacteria growth does not reoccur.
Water supply systems are often exposed to dangerous bacterial growth. Several types of bacteria are naturally present in water and breed in low temperature hot water systems such as those commonly found in hospitals, schools, offices, or other publicly used buildings. One such bacteria type is the Legionella organism, which can cause Legionnaires disease. Legionnaires disease strikes up to 25,000 people each year in the United Stats. Evidence has indicated that Legionnaires disease is often spread through hot water supply systems in large public buildings.
Processes have been developed to effectively clean water supply systems in an inexpensive and effective manner. One such process adds chlorine to the water supply system, killing the bacteria. Such a process has proven effective in controlling the growth of Legionella, however, there are drawbacks to such a process. One main drawback is that the use of chlorine potentially corrodes and damages pipes. As such, some prior art processes have utilized chlorine in combination with corrosion inhibitors. One such process is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,332.
Further, the process of treating water with chlorine and an corrosion inhibitor additive such as a silicate, is known. Such a process is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,526.
The known prior art processes have not disclosed a system which is incorporated into a water supply system in a large public building. Further, such known methods do not disclose a treatment process for initially setting up, disinfecting and maintaining the disinfectant within the water supply system. Chlorine is not stabile in hot water, and thus the amount of chlorine in the hot water will decrease with time. It is therefore an object of the present invention to disclose a complete system and method for disinfecting the hot water supply systems of large buildings and maintaining desired levels of chlorine in the system.